Plans NOW Our Top 10 Workbench Accessories - miketilt

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Our Top 10
Workbench
Accessories
Simple, shop-built devices
help you get the most out of
your workbench.
The workbench is the largest “tool” in my shop. And I use it for
a lot of tasks. But even the best of tools can benefit from some
practical accessories. The ten you see on these pages are the ones
I use most often in my shop. Besides making tasks quicker, safer,
and more accurate, these simple add-ons can be built with mostly
scrap material and in less than one hour. That’s more than enough
reason to add a few of these to your bench.
1 Hold-Down Clamp
One of the keys to accurate
hand work is making sure that your
workpiece is held securely. That’s
where the hold-downs you see in
the drawings come into play. Since
Planing into
the stop keeps
workpiece from
moving around
without clamps
From Woodsmith magazine
www.Woodsmith.com
Hold-Down Clamp
they’re made from wood, they won’t
mar your workpiece. And a large
wing knob makes it a snap to tighten
the clamp down or loosen it quickly
to reposition the workpiece.
Planing Stop
Slots
allow stop
to slide below
bench top, out of
the way
Short arm is used for
thick stock
Long arm keeps
thin stock in
place
T-nut in block
attaches hold-down
to bench
Size bolt to fit
workbench
thickness
Pivot block
holds arm
in place
Nuts act as a
stop to keep
bolt from
dropping
down
2 Planing Stop
Securing large panels to my workbench
for planing or belt sanding was always a bit tricky.
Clamps often get in the way of the tool and bench
dogs are too narrow to keep the workpiece from
shifting. To provide a solid stop for the workpiece,
I attached this board to one end of the workbench.
A pair of angled slots in the stop allow it to slide
below the worksurface when it’s not needed. A
couple of screws anchor it in place.
page 1 of 4 ©2006 August Home Publishing Company
All rights reserved

3 The large, flat surface of my workbench
is perfect for most of the work I do. But
clamping a round or odd-shaped workpiece to
the benchtop can seem more like trying to hold
onto a wet bar of soap.
To make it easier to grab and hold these
pieces, I turn to the simple, two-part V-block
you see here. I made mine from a section of
“two-by” stock. The base can be any length,
but I found 12" to be about right. It provides
a stable, wiggle-free platform for drilling,
shaping, or smoothing. A shorter top piece
gives the clamps a flat spot to lock the part in
place without marring it.
V-Block V-Block
Fence can be used
as a guide for
crosscutting
Wide base
can be used for
chiseling to
keep workbench
free of dings
Side view of bench
Cleat
hook and bench horse
5 Bench Horse
I like to think of these narrow bench
hooks as benchtop saw horses. They raise
a workpiece high enough off the benchtop
to crosscut the end without damaging my
bench. I also use them for trimming tenons.
It’s a good idea to make at least two so
you can support long stock. I made mine
the same depth as the full-size bench hook
shown above. This way, they can serve
as “outfeed” support so long workpieces
won’t sag.
From Woodsmith magazine
www.Woodsmith.com
Fence
Upper block
provides flat spot
for clamps
V-block made
from "two-by" stock
Plane into the fence
for best control
Lower block
cradles workpiece
and keeps it
in place
Base
Size
bench horses
to match
bench hook
to use as
“outfeed”
support
Bench Hook
Cleat hooks
over edge of
the bench
4 Bench Hook
This is one bench accessory that
I always keep close at hand. I can use it as
a guide for quickly cutting parts to length
or as a planing stop for small parts, as you
can see in the drawing at left. The base also
protects the bench from sharp chisels and
carving tools.
The bench hook is made up of a wide plywood
base with a thick hardwood fence at
the back and a cleat along the front edge to
catch on the edge of the workbench.
Bench Horse
Two horses
fully support
long workpieces
page 2 of 4 ©2006 August Home Publishing Company
All rights reserved

accessories for the
BENCH VISE
6 Small Parts Platform
Hunching over a bench while
working on a small workpiece is a good way
to get a back ache. And securing a small,
thin part to a large workbench top can be
another problem. But the solution to these
two problems is a plywood platform that
couldn’t be simpler to make.
The plywood top is small and thin
enough to securely clamp a workpiece on
all four sides for carving, or other close-up
work. I’ve also found this platform comes
in handy as a small parts
assembly table.
The raised platform at
right is just two small pieces
of plywood joined into a “T”
shape with a dado and some
glue and screws. Just be sure
the bottom leg of the “T” is
long enough to bring the
platform up to a comfortable
working height when it’s
clamped in a bench vise.
Board Jack
From Woodsmith magazine
www.Woodsmith.com
Board
jack made
from a
piece of
“two-by”
stock
Size
groove
to match
support
thickness
Position board jack below
edge of workpiece so it
won’t interfere with tool
Platform
brings
small, detailed
workpieces to
a comfortable
height
Board jack
supports long boards
or panels held in a
face vise
Small Parts Platform
Platform
and support
made from
#/4" plywood
Base supports
workpiece and
allows clamps on
all sides as
needed
7 Board Jack
Like small parts, clamping
and supporting long boards or wide
panels to a workbench can pose some
challenges. Especially if you need to
work on the edges of these pieces.
The solution I use isn’t really new.
In fact, it’s been used by woodworkers
for hundreds of years. It’s
called a board jack. (Although some
people call it a “sliding deadman.”)
As you can see in the drawing
at left, the board jack supports the
opposite end of a long workpiece
while it’s clamped in the face vise.
Although some board jacks are permanently
attached to the workbench,
mine is just a board that gets clamped
in the end vise. A row of holes drilled
along the length and a short wood
peg make it easy to adjust for the
width of the board or panel.
page 3 of 4 ©2006 August Home Publishing Company
All rights reserved

8 Miter Shooting Board
A poor-fitting miter joint on a project sticks out
like a sore thumb. However, trimming it to fit tight on the
table saw or miter saw can be a challenge. That’s when I
like to turn to a sharp hand plane and this miter shooting
board. With the shooting board, I can hold the workpiece
firmly against the angled fence. Then I can trim a bit at a
time to sneak up on the fit. The plane is guided by a wide
rabbet cut in the edge of the base. A pair of fences attached
to the base allow you to trim right or left miters.
Machinist's Vise
Secure the
machinist's vise
to workbench
in face vise
10 Mini Miter Box
Mini Miter Box
Zing! If you’ve ever tried to cut small
pieces of molding on a power miter saw, you
know the sound a piece makes as it catches on
the blade and goes whistling across the shop.
Besides being difficult to control, cutting small
parts on the miter saw can
sometimes lead to tearout
Attach fence to cleat
and rough cut edges.
with screws
A cleaner and safer way to
make those cuts is to use a
hand saw and the small miter
box you see in the drawing
at right. It clamps securely
in a bench vise. A kerf for 90°
and left and right 45° cuts in
the fence guides the saw for
smooth cuts every time.
From Woodsmith magazine
www.Woodsmith.com
Rabbet
guides plane
Kerfs
guide
hand saw
Workpiece
Miter Shooting Board
Attach cleat
to base
withscrews
Miter box
makes it easy to
accurately cut small parts like
dowels or molding
at 90° or 45°
Fences
support workpiece
at 45° to trim miters
Dust channel
keeps chips from
interfering
with cut
9 Add a Machinist’s Vise
While I work with wood most of the time I’m at my bench, there
are times when I need to cut, file, or shape metal. For that, a machinist’s
vise comes in pretty handy. But I don’t want or need it on my bench all
the time. To make for easy use, I bolted the vise to a plywood base that
has a cleat on the bottom. The cleat gets clamped in the face vise of the
workbench and holds the metal vise steady as a rock.
page 4 of 4 ©2006 August Home Publishing Company
All rights reserved